Publication of the resolutions of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases on the website of the Official Gazette and the validity of such publication.

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Certain issues affecting registered business enterprise (RBEs) under the Philippines Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) after the effectivity of Republic Act (R. A.) No. 11534, (otherwise known as the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act or CREATE Act), on April 11, 2021, specifically on the following: a) Whether Bureau of  Internal Revenue (BIR) Revenue Regulation No. 21-2021 is an  ultra vires issuance; and b) Whether PEZA can implement its established  Work From Home (WFH) policy despite Section 309 of the NIRC, as amended by the CREATE Act. 

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Relative to the adverse claim of the National Tobacco Authority (NTA) over the several parcels of land located in the barangays of Tabug and Mabaleng, Batac, Ilocos Nort, as discovered by the Mariaano Marcos State University (MMSU) while in the process of implementing its Land Use Development and Infrastructure Plan.

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Whether the Universal Health Care Act may be given retroactive application to pending cases, if favourable to respondent health care

provider and if the penalty of accreditation shall be imposed, may the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth) lift the same after compliance by the health care provider of the prescribed conditions, or is the revocation of accreditation permanent?

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Clarification of the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) Secretariat in response to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Board of Investments ((BOI) query on the procedure and requirements to secure FIRB’s approval to grant a Tax Expenditure Subsidy for the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) Program.

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Clarification on the positions of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director-General (DG) and its deputies, specifically on the following issues: a) Whether the positions of PDEA DG and its deputies are Career Executive Service (CES) positions; 2) Whether the said positions fall under paragraph 2 of  Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 1, s. 2022 (Declaring Vacant Certain Positions in the Departments, Offices, Agencies and Bureaus in the Executive Department…) and thus, no mistake was incurred  in occupying the positions in hold-over capacities; and  3) Whether the hold-over principle, particularly, the extent of the powers and prerogatives of an official in hold-over capacity, finds application in MC No. 1.

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Authority of the Department of Health (DOH) Secretary to sign agreements pertaining to the donation of COVID-19 bivalent vaccines through the COVAX facility to the Republic of the Philippines, notwithstanding the inclusion of a clause waiving the Philippines’ immunity from suit. 

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“Further legal guidance and legal opinion” on COVAX vaccines, specifically on the following: a) Applicability of Presidential Decree (PD) 1807 to the agreements for donation of vaccines and in respect to the waiver of sovereign immunity or whether there are laws authorizing the waiver of sovereign immunity for the particular transaction; and b) Whether or not the formerly signed COVAX Agreements legally subsist, particularly the provision on the waiver of immunity’ in light of PD 1807.

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Request for opinion on the following queries: a) Whether the Supreme Court ruling in Equitable PCI Bank, et al. vs. Ng Sheung Ngo, pertaining to the authority of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to declare extraordinary inflation applies to requests for price escalation under Republic Act (RA) No. 9184, otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act; b) Whether or not the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), as provided under Section 61 of RA No. 9184 can unilaterally determine extraordinary circumstances; and c) Whether NEDA can be said to have acted in good faith in allowing price escalation claims in the past without requiring the BSP certification due to lack of knowledge of the said case.

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Request for legal opinion, comment and/or recommendation on the propriety of the sanction imposed by the Board of the Komisyon ng Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino (KWF) against its Chairperson, Arthur P. Casanova. 

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Validity of the Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) entered into by the Floridablanca Water District (FWD) with Primewater Infrastructure  Corporation (PIC) in December 2016 for the Financing, Development,

Rehabilitation, Improvement, Expansion, Operation and Maintenance of the Water Supply System and

Construction and Management of Septage Facilities for the Municipality of Floridablanca, Pampanga.

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Opinion and advise on the following: 1) Whether Section 76 of Republic Act  (RA) No. 9184, (“An Act Providing for the Modernization, Standardization and Regulation of the Procurement Activities of the Government…) repealed Letter of Instructions (LOI) No. 755 (or the “Establishment of an Integrated Procurement System for the National Government and Its Instrumentalities”) on the policy of purchasing directly from reliable sources in economic lot sizes; and 2) Can the Procurement Service (PS)-Department of Budget and Management (DBM) purchase directly from reputable and duly licensed manufacturers and supplies as stated in LOI No. 755, in keeping with the principles of economy and efficiency in government procurement.

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Opinion on Ata Tribe ancestral domain, in relation to Republic Act (RA) No. 8371, also known as the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples ‘s Charter.

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Whether labor education, as provided in Section 4 of Republic Act (R. A.) No. 11551 or the” Labor Education Act,” may be operationalized through integration of labor education as part of an elective course.

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Opinion on the regulatory jurisdiction of the Food and Drug (FDA) under the Department of Health (DOH) and the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) over veterinary drug products.

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Whether local government units (LGUs) can confiscate driver’s license pursuant to Section 16 of Republic Act (R. A.) No. 7160 or the “Local Government Code of 1991,” without the necessary deputation provided under R. A. No. 4136 or the “Land Transportation Code.”

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Opinion on the appropriate legal framework for the collaboration between the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Philippine Statistics Authority (OSA) in the implementation of the Philippine Identification  System (PhilSys) Act  with the end in view of accelerating the roll-out of digital PhilSys ID.

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Opinion on the claim for compensation of local water districts (LWDs), in relation to the following specific issues: a) Whether it is indeed necessary  for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA); b) Whether the local water district agencies are entitled to compensation for relocation of water pipelines; c) Should the Department of Justice (DOJ) deem it necessary to compensate local water districts (LWDs), may the DPWH further inquire from the DOJ guidance in the allowable mode and means of payment; and d) Whether the compensation for LWDs can be derived from the Right-of-Way (ROW) funds of the DPWH since there is no specific allocation in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) in favour of the LWDs.

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Confirmatory legal opinion that both the United Coconut Chemicals, Inc. and the Coconut Industry Investment Fund-Oil Mills Group (CIIF-OMG) are government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) and are both required to remit at least 50% of their  reported net earnings to the Bureau of the Treasury  (BTr) pursuant to Republic Act (R.A.) No. 7656 or the “Dividends Law.”

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Whether parcels of land, awarded to qualified beneficiaries of Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) issued by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) without any payment from said beneficiaries, will be treated as private property and thus, compensable should the site or location covered by the CLOA be affected by the Road-Right-of-Way (RROW) projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

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Whether the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has enforcement power and authority to apprehend and impound colorum vehicles.

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Whether the twenty percent (20%) share of the city or municipality on the Fire Code Fees that they have collected, as provided in Section 13 of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 9514, otherwise known as the Fire Code of the Philippines of 2008 may be retained by them and only eighty percent (80%) will be remitted to the National Treasury, notwithstanding the plain and clear provision of Section 69 (1) and Section 84 of Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1445 of the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines.

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Propriety and legality of providing the Legal Education Board(LEB) with a line item in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) through the National Expenditure Program of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM)Propriety and legality of providing the Legal Education Board(LEB) with a line item in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) through the National Expenditure Program of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

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Whether a child conceived and born during the subsistence of the father’s marriage with another woman, but which marriage was subsequently declared null and void ab initio, may be legitimated under Republic Act No. 9858, or “An Act Providing for the Legitimation of Children Born to Parents Below Marrying Age, Amending for the Purpose the Family Code of the Philippines, As amended).

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Whether the issuance of an “official letter” by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign (MFA) in favour of the Philippine Government confirming ownership of a lot--which the Philippine Embassy in Cairo plans to acquire, in the newly developed Administrative Capital in Egypt can be considered as a sufficient document, in lieu of a title which is yet to be released, insofar as Philippine rules on ownership or property is concerned.

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Opinion on the potential transfer of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth), an attached agency of the Department of Health (DOH), to the Office of the President (OP).

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Request for guidance and/or confirmation  on the Commission on Audit’s  (COA) power to audit the Gross Gaming Receipts (GGR) of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO), as per the Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).

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Clarification on the transfer by the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) of its properties and assets to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), pursuant to Republic Act No. 11054, otherwise known as the “Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao,” specifically on the following issues: a) What is the extent of the Bangsamoro Government’s (BG) authority over irrigation systems in the BARMM; and b) Whether the properties and assets of the NIA shall be turned over to the BG, pursuant to Section 11, Article XVI of the BARMM Law.

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Whether public bidding is an indispensable requirement for the validity of the Lease Agreement dated 20 August 2014 executed between the Nayong Pilipino Foundation, as lessor, and Westside City, Inc., formerly known as Resorts World Bayshore City Inc., as lessee.

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Propriety of procuring an insurance policy from private insurance providers for workers hired  and deployed under a government-to-government arrangement.

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Whether the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) can use the unrefunded Passenger Service Charges (PSC) on unused airline tickets, which are being held in trust by the MIAA for the account of passengers, to finance the MIAA’s capital expenditure requirements.

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Whether it is within the confines of the local government of Calapan,  Oriental Mondoro’s power to enact the proposed Provincial Ordinance No. 15-2022, entitled “ An Ordinance Granting Service Incentives,  Awards and Welfare Assistance to Barangay Officials, Workers and Volunteers in the Province of Oriental Mondoro…” in view of Article 77 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 7160, (or the Local Government Code of 1991) in relation to Article 170 (c) of the said IRR under Commission on Audit (COA) Circular No. 2012-003.

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Proposed Government-to-Government Arrangement (G2G) between the Republic of the Philippines and France, specifically with regard to the following issues: a) Whether a G2G Arrangement in the form of a “Bilateral Agreement “ or a “Framework Agreement” is legally acceptable and shall require Senate ratification and Presidential concurrence; b) Validity of the blended financing mechanism to be incorporated in the G2G Arrangement; and c) Whether the procurement guidelines stated in the Proposal are valid and consistent with the Government Procurement Reform Act (Republic Act No. 9184) and its Implementing Rules and Regulation (IRR).

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Relative to the resignation as hold-over director, of Mr. Leo Espiritusanto Hernandez and his subsequent request for reinstatement  in the said position  at the Philippine Mining Development Corporation (PMDC), a government-owned corporation.

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Opinion on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) position that firm-level trade statistics can no longer be provided to the Export Marketing Bureau of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI-EMB).

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Proper interpretation of Sections 15 and 18 (Jurisdiction of the Human Settlements and Adjudication Commission and Appeals to the Commission, respectively) of Republic Act No. 11201, otherwise known as the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Act in  order to guide litigants and the Human Settlements and Adjudication  Commission in the enforcement of its decisions.

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 Eligibility of Local Universities and Colleges (LUCs) to implement the Free Higher Education provision of Republic Act No.       10931(Promotion  of  Universal Access to Universal Quality Tertiary Education Act) under the Commission on Higher Education (CHED)     Memorandum No. 9, series of 2018 Guidelines.

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